Ardeinae is a subfamily of herons, which includes the day herons, night herons, and egrets.[1][2]
Taxonomy
Extant Genera
| Image | Genus | Living species |
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Nycticorax T. Forster, 1817 – typical night herons |
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Nyctanassa Stejneger, 1887 – American night herons |
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Gorsachius Bonaparte, 1855 – Asian and African night herons |
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Butorides Blyth, 1852 – green-backed herons |
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Agamia Reichenbach, 1853 – Agami heron |
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Pilherodius Reichenbach, 1853 – capped heron |
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Ardeola F. Boie, 1822 – pond herons |
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Bubulcus Bonaparte, 1855 – cattle egrets |
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Ardea – typical herons |
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Syrigma Ridgway, 1878 – whistling heron |
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EgrettaT. Forster, 1817 – typical egrets |
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Fossils
- Genus †Proardea (fossil)
- Genus †Zeltornis (fossil, Early Miocene of Djebel Zelten, Libya)
- Genus undetermined
- †Easter Island heron, Ardeidae gen. et sp. indet. (prehistoric)
References
- ^ Sheldon, Frederick H.; McCracken, Kevin G.; Stuebing, Keeley D. (1995). "Phylogenetic relationships of the zigzag heron (Zebrilus undulatus) and white-crested bittern (Tigriornis leucolophus) estimated by DNA-DNA hybridization" (PDF). Auk. 112 (3): 672–679. JSTOR 4088682.
- ^ Sheldon, Frederick H.; Jones, Clare E.; McCracken, Kevin G. (2000). "Relative Patterns and Rates of Evolution in Heron Nuclear and Mitochondrial DNA" (PDF). Molecular Biology and Evolution. 17 (3): 437–450. doi:10.1093/oxfordjournals.molbev.a026323. PMID 10723744. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2006-09-07.